News broke that the NY Jets were considering trading star cornerback Darrelle Revis and it sent shock waves through the sports world. Well it turns out this isn’t exactly “new”. Read more after the jump.
Two sources told New York Post reporter Mark Cannizzaro that the Jets floated their interest in trading Revis before he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in Week 3.
If true, that shows the Jets have been in preparation for a post-Revis world all season. Revis is due $6 million in 2013 and has a player-option for 2014, 2015 and 2016. He’ll look to surpass Buffalo Bills defensive endMario Williams’ six-year, $96 million deal, a source told the New York Post, which is the richest contract ever for a defensive player.
The Jets are expected to be $19 million over the salary cap in 2013 and to use the season to get their financial issues in order. That probably doesn’t include giving out the most lucrative contract in NFL history for a defensive player.
Many consider Revis the best defender in the NFL, so those numbers aren’t ridiculous. This likely will be the biggest contract of his career — even coming off ACL surgery. Revis is 27 years old and that same money isn’t given out to 30-year-old cornerbacks. He’ll never have more leverage.
Revis is going to get paid in a pass-first NFL that is desperate for elite cornerbacks. If the Jets can’t come up with the cash, they have to move him rather than lose him for nothing.
